Happenings of the Chabad Lubavitch אנ"ש community of Rockland County, New York

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Parsha Perspective

By Rabbi
Yisroel Shusterman

This
week’s Parsha Perspective is dedicated by Mr. Binyomin Philipson in
memory of his late mother Mrs. Ellen (Elka bas Zisel) Philipson OBM

"He is a
self-made man who worships his creator." Who said it? About whom? It
doesn't really matter as long as we make sure the description doesn't fit us.

This week's Torah portion Naso (Bamidbor [Numbers] 4:21-7:89) details
the offerings of the princes (nessi'im) of the twelve tribes at the time
the Mishkan, the portable Sanctuary in the wilderness, was completed.
Previously, towards the end of the Book of Exodus, we had read that Moses blessed
the people when they finished building this Mishkan. What blessing did he give
them? Our sages relate that he blessed them: May it be G-d's will
that the Shechinah, the Divine Presence, should come to rest upon the work
of your hands. He also blessed them with the phrase that would become part
of Psalm 90, May the pleasantness of the L-rd, our G-d, be upon us…May He
establish for us the work of our hands.

Why pray now? Surely
the time for prayer was before the sanctuary was built. Then it might
have been needed to inspire the people to bring in their offerings and
contributions, to execute the huge amount of work that was required to create
this new sacred structure. But now the work is done, everything is in place.
Why pray now?

The answer is that
Moses understood that building G-d's sanctuary is not in our hands alone. Sure,
we can erect a structure. That's the easy part. The question is: will G-d see
fit to live there, to make it His home? For this, a special prayer was called
for. We needed a blessing upon the work our hands.

How often people
imagine that they do it themselves - all by themselves? How many boast that
they are "self-made men"? So anyone who didn't have a rich father
before him is a self-made man? Do you really believe that your success is all
your own doing? Your hard work, your business acumen, your clever trading
technique - these are the secrets of your success?

And where did all
that wisdom and ability come from? The skills and talents we possess are
G-d-given gifts we should acknowledge and be grateful for. And that's not
humility. It's reality. You were born with that natural talent and flair. Give
credit to your Creator.

A friend was once
laid up with a bad back. What happened? He picked up a little bicycle for his
5-year old. A tiny nonsense but it left him flat on his back for weeks.

To get sick takes a
minute, to get well can take weeks and months. We all need to remember our
frailties and limitations. No matter how strong, clever or talented we may be,
we are all subject to higher forces. Nobody can do it alone. There is no such
thing as a self-made man.

And so Moses reminds
us all that even when our work is done, we still need that blessing from Above.
Even when we work hard or concoct the most intricate business schemes,
ultimately our success needs a prayer. We need to recognize the hand of G-d in
our lives and, hopefully, in our success. Let us do our work as best as we can
and then let us not forget to ask Him to bless the work of our hands.